nes, and wherein you shall haue occasion to vse mee, you shall alwayes finde me redy & wyllinge to stande you in the best stede I can. And so wth my very swete comendaAnd rest yo very cons I comitt you to the Almightye. assured Loving frende At[torn]feile 9 Septembris 1604. T. ELLESMERE, Canc. To the right wor my very Loving frende, Sr. John Davis Knight, his Maties Solict. generall in his Realme of Ireland.3 A few years later-1608—one Letter in full-like all our MSS., now for the first time printed,-from the Lord Deputy-the noble Chichester-must suffice as a specimen of many kindred. Noble Mr. Attornie, Since your departure hence I haue received two ioynt letters from you, and Sr. James Ley, and one from your selfe alone, for wch I am not your debter vnlesse it be in the matter, wch I confesse bringes more life wth it comming freshe out of the stoorehouse of neewes and noveltie, for I have written as manie and more vnto you both. Albeyt I expect you wth the first passage (for so the lordes haue promised by their letters) yet can I not leaue you vnremembred, assuringe you thoe you have greater friendes, none respects you better then my selfe, nor can be more readie to make demonstration therof accordinge to the meanes I haue. I praye bringe wth you the lordes directions for Sr. Neale Odonnell, and the rest of the prisoners. Sr. Neale 3 Carte MSS. ff. 315-6. and Ocatiance [O'Sullivan?] had contriued their escape and woulde haue as desperately attempted it, had I not preuented it within these sixe nightes by a discoverie made vnto me, albeyt I keep 20 men euerie neight for the guarde of the Castle ouer and aboue the warde of the same, whereof two or three lye in each of their chambers. Their horses were come to the towne, and all thinges else in readines. Sure these men doe goe beyond all nations in the worlde for desperate escapes, Shane Granie Ocarratan [O'Sullivan ?] after he was acquited of three indictments, and as most men conceiued free from all danger of the lawe, did on fridaye the 27th of Januarie cast himselfe out of a wyndow in the topp of the Castle by the heelpe of a peece of rotten match, and his mantell wch brake before he was halfe waye downe, and thoe he were presently discovered yet he escaped about supper tyme. When I had written thus far worde was brought me that a passadge [sic] was come from Hollyheade wch made me to pause for a tyme hopinge you or some other wth letters, or other directions, was arriued, but beinge advertised that the Recorder of this Cyttie only wth a fewe other passengers had in this fayre weather wrought out a passage by longe lyeinge att sea, although the wyndes were contrarie, and that they came from London before Christmas and had no written letters or message but in theise particulars, I fell to you againe. And do now praye you to geue your best assystance and furtherance to such matters tuchinge my perticulare as John Strowd or Annesley shall acquaint you wth all, for wch you shall finde me verie thankfull vnto you. I haue written to the lordes in the behalfe of the howse servitors here, that they maye be remembered vpon the deuysion and plantation of the scheated lands in Ulster. I am discreadited amonge them if they should be forgotten, and sure the plantation woulde be weake wth out them, for they must be the pyllers to support it. Those that shall come from thence wyll not affect it in that kynde as these do, to make it a settlement for them and theirs; and in respect of their wourthier deserts and paynfull labors, and that I haue vpon my promise to speake effectually for them preuayled so farre as to staye them from resortinge thither, wch they woulde doe in great multitudes if I woulde haue given way to their desire. I wysh that an honorable consideration maye be had of them before the diuision be concluded. I knowe that worke is of great moment and on it dependes much of the prosperitie, and good estate of the whole kingdome. I haue sayd enough to one that vnderstandes so well: And so beinge called vpon sooner then I expected I must end wth the page, but wyll euer be found Your trewe affected friend Att Dublyn Castle the 7th of februarie 1608. ARTHUR CHICHESTER. I send here wth the proceedinge of the Court of Kinges bench in the cause of the Carrolans wch was violently prosecuted by the 1. of Howth. I send them by reason it is thought by the Judges that the Baron will exclaime of their proceedinges here. To my verie wourthie friend Sr John Davis Knight his Maties Attornie in the Realme of Irelande. 4 Two short letters from Bacon-not before printed, 4 Carte, as before, Vol. 62, f. 313-14. having escaped even Mr. Spedding's Argus-eyes— in the same Carte MSS.-show Davies's pleasant relations with his great contemporary. They are as follow: : (I. Carte MS. Vol. 62, ff. 317-18.) Good Sr Jh. Davies yo' mistaking shall not be imputed to you (for the difference is not much). Yo' gratulacons for my marrige I take kyndly. And as I was all waies delighted wth the fruites of yo1 [illegible] so I would be gladde of yor [illegible] so as you plant not yo' self to[o] farre of[f]. For I had rather you should be a laborer than a plant in that State. You giue me no occasion to wryte longer in that you impart not by yo' lrs any occurrence of yrs. And so wth my very love consid" towards you I remayne Yor assured friend from Graies Inn, this 26th of Dec. 1606. To my very good Frend Sr Jh. Davis Knt Attorny g'rall to his M. in Ireland. Mr. Atturny, (II. Ibid ff, 328-9.) I thanke you for yor Ire and the discourse you sent of this mere accident, as thinges then appeared. I see manifestly the begynnyng of better or woorse. But me thinketh it is first a tender of the better, and woorse foloweth but vpon refusall or default. I would haue been gladd to see you hear, but I hope occasion restreineth or meeting for a vacation when we may haue more fruite of conference. To requite yor proclamacon (wch in my judgment is wysely and seriously penned) I send you [illegible] wh [illegible] wch happened to be in my hands when yos came. I would be gladde to hear oft from you and to be advertized how [illegible] passe whereby to haue some occasion to thinke some good thoughts though I can doe lyttell. At least it wilbe a contynuance in exercise of or frendshippe wch on my part remayneth increased by that I hear of yo1 service and the good respects I find towards my self. And so in extreme hast I remayne Yor very [illegible] frend from Graies Inn this 23th of Oct. 1607. FR. BACON. To the R. W. his verie Lovinge frende Sr Iohn Dauys Knight, his Maties Atturnye in Irelande. During one of his 'circuits' in Ireland, he met Eleanor, daughter of Lord Audley (afterwards Earl of Castlehaven) and was married to her-though the date has not been traced. Her later years were darkened with insanity of a strangely voluble type. It is to be feared she was an ill "help-meet" for her husband. There is pathos, if also inevitable comedy, in her career-not here to be entered on.5 While intensely occupied with his official duties, Sir John Davies did not neglect his literary gift. He was making history every year-so fundamental and per 5 See Life to be prefixed to Prose Works for quotations from her writings in verse and prose, and for further details. |